As part of our special Family Access Day programming, we will be screening Walt Disney Animation Studios’ The Little Mermaid (1989) at 2pm in our theater. To make this film a comfortable experience for all, lights will be dimmed instead of off, volume will be slightly lowered, and closed captioning...
9am–3pm
In this digital animation Class at The Walt Disney Family Museum, students will be introduced to important digital software and learn the core principles of 2D animation. Throughout the two-week session, students will complete short exercises using techniques that everyday animators utilize to build...
9am–3pm
Spark creativity and imagination in this youth imaginative environment Class at The Walt Disney Family Museum! Young artists will design their own characters, landscapes, and fantastical settings using surprising and unconventional materials that inspire inventive thinking. By the end, each...
9am–3pm
Procreate offers a variety of powerful features that any artist can use! Join us in this two-week course to learn how to animate on an iPad using Procreate. The course will cover how to navigate the app’s tools, and students will learn fundamental animation principles to make their own animated...
9am–3pm
Bring your imagination to life in this hands-on experimental animation Class at The Walt Disney Family Museum. Participants will explore unconventional, creative techniques to design and animate their own characters, materials, and visual ideas. Drawing inspiration from early innovative animation...
This page is down for maintenance and will return on Friday, May 29. Please email events@wdfmuseum.org directly. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Mon, May 25 | 11am
Thu–Mon, Jun 1–Sep 7 | 1pm
Thu–Sun, Sep 10–13 | 1pm
No screenings May 22, 30, & 31, Jun 1, 4, 6, & 13
During the run of the special exhibition, we will have regular screenings of a new featurette, Happiest Place on Earth: Walt’s Disneyland (2025), produced by guest curator and Disney Legend Don Hahn. This exclusive documentary traces the creation and early years of Disneyland through Walt Disney’s...
No screenings Jun 4, 5, 6, 13, & 18
Nerdy cartographer and linguist Milo Thatch is constantly ridiculed by his bosses for his obsession with the mythical lost city of Atlantis. When he uncovers long-lost evidence of its location, he joins a rag-tag group of mercenary adventurers (and a wealthy but eccentric explorer) to find of the...
Update as of May 25, 2026: After more than 10 months on display inside the lobby of the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland Resort, the original furniture from Walt’s apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street, U.S.A., will return to The Walt Disney Family Museum, as part of the process of bringing back the items on loan. Soon, the exhibit at Disneyland will feature furniture inspired by the originals from Walt’s apartment. All other objects inside the Main Street Opera House at...
Update as of May 25, 2026: After more than 10 months on display inside the lobby of the Main Street Opera House at Disneyland Resort, the original furniture from Walt’s apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street, U.S.A., will return to The Walt Disney Family Museum, as part of the process of bringing back the items on loan. Soon, the exhibit at Disneyland will feature furniture inspired by the originals from Walt’s apartment. All other objects inside the Main Street Opera House at...
Mon, May 25–Sep 13, 2026 | 1pm & 3pm
No screenings May 22, 30, & 31
No 1pm screening Jun 22
During the run of the special exhibition, we will have regular screenings of a new featurette, Happiest Place on Earth: Walt’s Disneyland (2025), produced by guest curator and Disney Legend Don Hahn. This exclusive documentary traces the creation and early years of Disneyland through Walt Disney’s...
In conjunction with Support for Families, The Walt Disney Family Museum invites children with disabilities and special healthcare needs to enjoy the museum’s galleries with their friends and families on Thursday, June 4, free of charge. For the first hour of the day, our galleries will be reserved...
For celebrated artist Josh Agle, growing up with annual visits to Disneyland® Park helped shape his literal world view. “I’m a really visual person,” he explains, “so I think in images more than words, and Disneyland is a very visual place. It’s designed in a way that everywhere you look, there’s visual eye candy, and it’s put together in a way that is escapist and immersive. I think Disneyland in Anaheim, [California] does it better than any of the other Disney parks because they have limited...
Landscape architect Ruth Patricia Shellhorn—known for her work on Bullock’s department stores, Fashion Square shopping centers, and the original design of Disneyland—helped define the distinctive mid-century regional aesthetic of Southern California. Shellhorn’s masterfully curated vibrant plant...
Day after Labor Day to Day before Memorial Day: Thursday–Sunday
Virtual: Mon–Fri, 10am-3pm PT
On-site: Mon, Thu, & Fri, 10am–noon or 1–3pm
Walt Disney knew that at the heart of every animated film is a well-told story. Join us on this School Experience as we investigate the basics of narrative structure, establishing interesting and dynamic plots, and creating internal and external challenges that can impact a character’s journey. Students will then develop their own short story.
Virtual: Mon–Fri, 10am-3pm PT
On-site: Mon, Thu, & Fri, 10am–noon or 1–3pm
Walt Disney was a storyteller whose characters captivated audiences through their unique personalities and distinct designs. Students will learn the fundamentals of character design through the use of shape language, silhouette, and personality traits, and uncover the creative process towards developing unique and memorable characters.
Virtual: Mon–Fri, 10am-3pm PT
On-site: Mon, Thu, & Fri, 10am–noon or 1–3pm
The Walt Disney Studios pioneered storyboarding—an innovative way to convey an artist’s vision and the film’s story for those around them. Join us in this School Experience as we delve into timing, camera angles, camera shots, and how to plan out a visual project in a sequential and visual form. Students will then take on the role of a storyboard artist as they envision their own version of a scene from a script.
Virtual: Mon–Fri, 10am-3pm PT
Benefitting from embedded digital media content, this walk-through the museum brings Walt’s inspirational message to life. Classes learn about his early failures, the art of animation, storytelling principles, and the technological innovations that made classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) possible.